Teen charged for Facebook birthday hoax that drew 200,000

Invite goes viral

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Australian police arrested a Sydney teenager and accused him of posting an invitation to Facebook that generated 200,000 positive replies to a girl's 16th birthday party.

The unnamed 17-year-old was arrested on Tuesday when police visited his home, The Sydney Morning Heraldreported. He was charged with using the internet to “harass/offend contrary to the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act.” He was freed on bail and is scheduled to appear in court in April.

According to police, the youth created a fake Facebook profile purporting to belong to the girl and posted a birthday invitation that included her name, home address and cellphone number. It drew more than 200,000 positive responses, the Associated Press said.

The girl originally posted her own birthday invitation to Facebook but later removed it when 2,000 people registered their plans to attend. ®